“High magnification telescope eyepieces are suitable for observing the Moon and planets.” Pros and cons of different types of telescope eyepieces Kellner eyepieces With one of the simplest designs, the Kellner has been around since 1846. It is an achromatic lens designed to correct the chromatic aberration caused by the refraction of light in the…
Read more
France announces the creation of its “Space Force”, a space commandment – News of July 16, 2019 – In a speech to the Armed Forces pronounced on July 13, french president Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of a space commandment within the air force, charged to ensure the deployment of a new doctrine that takes…
Read more
— Watch the video above or read the transcription below — Hi Space Lovers ! Today we are with french Astronaut Jean-François Clervoy. He did 3 missions in space, he developed the 0G flights in Europe and he is the chairman CEO of Novespace. Jean-François answers some of the questions you asked. Let’s go !…
Read more
The University of Colorado Boulder develops a small gravity simulator for space – News of July 9, 2019 – Prolonged weightlessness has a significant impact on human health. Nausea, muscle and bone loss, redistribution of fluids, impaired vision or sensation of loss of taste, for example. After a few weeks of terrestrial orbit aboard the…
Read more
The Dragonfly mission will fly towards Titan in 2026 – News of July 2, 2019 – It was one of the most anticipated decisions in 2019. The US Space Agency had to choose between two candidates for the fourth mission of the New Frontiers program. NASA can only fund one of them. The first mission…
Read more
For the first time, the source of a unique fast radio burst has been identified – News of July 2, 2019 – In 2007, while digging into old archives of the Parkes observatory in Australia, a student made a strange discovery. The radio telescope appeared to have recorded a very short radio burst in 2001…
Read more
The Comet Interceptor mission will study comets very closely – News of July 2, 2019 – ESA has just validated a new mission for the next decade as part of its Cosmic Vision program. This mission is called Comet Interceptor. Since its creation, ESA has specialized in comet exploration. Thanks to this new mission, the…
Read more
Astronomy is a hobby that is not practiced only at night. Here are 10 celestial objects that you can see even in daylight. Before starting, watch out for the sun ! Caution ! The observation of celestial objects presented here can be very dangerous for the eye. It is therefore necessary to be extremely cautious,…
Read more
By observing galaxies, you will explore the history of the universe The Milky Way is far from being the only galaxy to travel in the cosmos. Hundreds of billions of galaxies drift into space. With a little practice, you will be able to observe some of them from your garden. Scattered in the cosmic void,…
Read more
“By observing the contours of the Moon you will distinguish the cut-out profile of the mountains.” Here are some useful tips to make beautiful observations of the Moon with the naked eye, astronomy binoculars or telescope. What will you see on the Moon ? The Moon is the celestial object that is most familiar to…
Read more
The Curiosity rover detects a powerful methane peak on the planet Mars – News of June 25, 2019 – We often talk about methane detection on the planet Mars. On Earth, methane is a gas associated with life. In the atmosphere of the planet Mars, it is easily broken by the ultraviolet radiation of the…
Read more
Postponement of Spektr-RG space observatory launch due to discharged batteries – News of June 25, 2019 – Since the fall of the Sovietic Union, Russia’s economic difficulties have canceled most major scientific programs. That’s why the launch of the Spektr-RG space observatory by a Proton rocket that was planned last Friday is very important. The…
Read more
Falcon Heavy achieves a difficult mission for the US Army – News of June 25, 2019 – The Falcon Heavy has just flown for the third time, less than three months after its previous flight. The mission seems to have gone well. The two side boosters that had already been retrieved during the previous launch…
Read more
“The use of spotting scopes is becoming more and more common among astronomers.” Often overlooked, spotting scopes are a cheap alternative to the telescope. Favorite instrument for naturalists, spotting scopes are very useful for watching a herd of antelopes in Africa or a bird flying from tree to tree. As night falls, as wildlife observers…
Read more
The development of the Psyche space probe continues – News of June 18, 2019 – The Psyche mission will be launched in 2022. It will explore the asteroid that bears the same name, an asteroid almost entirely composed of iron and nickel. We think that this is the heart of a protoplanet that has disappeared.…
Read more
The study of the salinity of Europa’s oceans could tell us if life is possible – News of June 18, 2019 – In the late 1990s, the Galileo mission taught us that Europa, one of Jupiter‘s largest moon, is probably home to an ocean of liquid water under its ice crust. Its magnetic field, its…
Read more
TransAstra selected by NASA’s NIAC program – News of June 18, 2019 – NASA has announced the selection of projects for its NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. It allows for preliminary research on technologies that could dramatically change how we use space. Participants in the 2019 edition were revealed on June 11th. It includes…
Read more
OSIRIS-REx orbits less than one kilometer from Bennu – News of June 18, 2019 – The solar system continues to reveal its secrets. Comets and asteroids are exploration targets increasingly studied by space agencies. NASA has thus dedicated the OSIRIS-REx space probe to the asteroid Bennu, a Type C near-Earth object of about 500 meters…
Read more
These courses are free if you only want to read the content of the course and to watch the videos. You will have to pay a few dollars if you want to access all of the course, including rating homework, and to have an official certificate to print or to share (on LinkedIn for example).…
Read more
“The Dobsonian mount offers one of the most enjoyable ways to point a telescope.” Find out how to observe the sky using one of the simplest beginner telescope mounts to get started. Stable but easy to handle, the Dobsonian mount offers one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to use a telescope. In the…
Read more
These courses are free if you only want to read the content of the course and to watch the videos. You will have to pay a few dollars if you want to access all of the course, including rating homework, and to have an official certificate to print or to share (on LinkedIn for example).…
Read more
“Stargazing at a higher magnification than the average can be difficult with a Dobson.” The Dobsonian telescope, a cheaper way to practice astronomy The Dobsonian telescope is a reflecting telescope mounted on an azimuthal or altazimutal mount. It is the mount that differentiates it from other types of Newtonian reflectors. Dobsonian telescopes are very popular…
Read more
ESA is very active regarding its lunar program – News of June 11, 2019 – The Moon exploration is very trendy nowadays. More than a dozen public and private entities plan to land robots on the Moon in the next five years. Three manned flight programs are under development in the United States, China and…
Read more
The star HR9024 loses weight due to incredible coronal mass ejections – News of June 11, 2019 – Observed from afar, the sun may seem like a shiny, smooth ball. Modern astronomy has shown that in reality the surface of our star is covered with bubbles and filaments, some of which may be absolutely gigantic.…
Read more
Starshade could help space telescopes to observe exoplanets – News of June 9, 2019 – To observe exoplanets is very difficult. We must work on contrasts. The stars are indeed much brighter than their planets. Ideally, it is much easier to be able to hide the light of the star to focus only on the…
Read more
Tiangong 1, the first Chinese space station – News of June 9, 2019 – The history of Chinese manned flight is quite short, but it is already very interesting. After designing the Shenzhou spacecraft, China began building space stations. Tiangong 1 was launched in September 2011. It consisted of a service module and a pressurized…
Read more
Relativity Space will print rockets for $ 10 million – News of June 9, 2019 – Relativity Space is one of the companies developing rockets for Smallsats. Their launcher is called Terran 1. It is a little more imposing than the average launchers. It must be able to place up to a ton of low…
Read more
Satellite mega-constellations : big opportunities and big worries – News of June 6, 2019 – In recent months, a Soyuz rocket and a Falcon 9 have put into orbit the first satellites of two huge constellations, OneWeb and Starlink who are racing to set up satellite internet services. They will soon be joined by Amazon…
Read more
In this 54 hours MOOC, you will learn the methods scientists use to search for new exoplanets, what makes a habitable planet, the Fermi paradox, interstellar travel, SETI… It looks like you’ll become an expert about this topic and you will have an informed opinion to try to answer the profound question : are we…
Read more
The International Space Station shows that if 15 nations, sometimes previously enemies, are able to collaborate in space, there must be a way that they collaborate on Earth to fight against poverty, hunger, thirst and for innovation. Ron Garan is the perfect witness of this “orbital perspective” since he spent 6 months in the International…
Read more
